Canada's Steele Auto expands its U.S. footprint in Texas

Steele Auto Group, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has added to its Texas dealership count with the purchase of two Hyundai stores.

Steele Auto said this week that it acquired Roger Beasley Hyundai Kyle and Roger Beasley Hyundai New Braunfels from Roger Beasley Auto Group. With its latest acquisition, Steele Auto now owns five dealerships in the U.S., all in Texas.

A transaction date wasn't immediately available. The dealerships were renamed Steele Hyundai Kyle and Steele Hyundai New Braunfels. Kyle is a fast-growing city south of Austin, and New Braunfels is located along Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio.

"Given our strong relationship with Hyundai Canada, we are proud to partner with and continue our relationship with Hyundai in the U.S.," Steele Auto President Kim Day said in a statement Wednesday, adding the new stores would complement the group's existing dealerships in Texas.

Steele Auto entered the U.S. in early 2020, buying Luling Chevrolet-Buick-GMC from dealer Carroll Barron.

The dealership group in December that year said it had purchased Benny Boyd Gonzales Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Benny Boyd Lockhart Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram from Benny Boyd.

Steele Auto said it now has 54 new-vehicle dealerships, seven used-vehicle stores and eight collision centers.

Roger Beasley in 1972 opened his first dealership in Austin — a Mazda outlet. The group has three Mazda dealerships in Texas.

"We are confident that the Steele group will continue to uphold our founding principles and we welcome them to central Texas," Jim Bagan, vice president of Roger Beasley Auto Group, said in a statement.